Artists in residence for Second Life

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 22 May 2007 06:26

Your IT - Home IT

A Federal Government program will pay a team of digital artists to explore their craft in the virtual space of Second Life.

A $20,000 grant is being offered by the Australia Council to one team of up to three people - a writer, a musician or sound artist and a "digital visual media practitioner" - so they can "explore the possibilities of literary, music/sound art and real time 3-D arts practices within the virtual realm... [and] develop new, experimental artistic practices and observations on the social and cultural layers that have evolved in Second Life."

The successful applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents, and will be required to address real life audiences through a public exhibition.

"Second Life offers artists the perfect space to explore a virtual environment and test new ways of creating art," said Australia Council CEO Kathy Keele. "There is already a vibrant arts community in Second Life - with thousands of artists creating works in the digital realm - and we are keen to help build Australia’s representation."

"There are so many possibilities for writers and artists to explore in Second Life that I expect we'll see the successful applicants creating some excellent groundbreaking art in the process," she added.

Applications close on July 27.